Monthly Archive: December 2008
How I Quit Smoking
Next week, I will write something about resolutions in general, but today, I am going to tell you how I quit smoking. So many people resolve to quit smoking for the new year, but most end up failing in this endeavor. Most smokers I know have quit many times. They always ask me how I quit… and stayed quit. So here is my story.
I started smoking late: I was 19 when I first lit up. It was pure peer pressure. The people on the campus newspaper who I thought were cool smoked, and I wanted to be like them. So …
Enough about the Housing Market Already!
[We want to welcome new poster Katie Fluegge to the discussion. She has started off with a bang, and I trust a very meaty subject for you all. Welcome Katie.]
Every time I turn on the news I hear the headlines about “record foreclosure” and nationwide home sales being down. But when you look at home sales in our area the truth is Central Wisconsin has a strong economy and hasn’t been affected the way that other parts of the nation have been. Locally, we have seen a decrease in the number of overall home sales by about 22% in 2008 …
A Plate Piled High with Questions
After finally getting the snowblower to work again this morning, The Husband danced a jig. What a big pile of snow we got this week! Almost threatened to do in our holiday plans, but we persevered. I hope all of you enjoyed a bit of a holiday in honor of gift-getting day. Questions this week come to us from oldwoodchair. Thanks Terry!
1. I am lucky in that I have several Christmas tree ornaments from my childhood and also from my husband’s childhood…stuff that we have fond memories of hanging on the those big old trees of our youth, and we …
The Christmas Flower
When I was a little girl living on top of the hill above the hospital, near the “tippy-top,” surrounded by fields and forests, I loved planting a half-acre garden with my mom every summer. It was delightful. I loved the flowers especially. We had ancient dahlia bulbs that stretched the length of the garden and bloomed with a dark red richness and a deeply satisfying scent. I was so sad that the flowers didn’t grow in the winter, so my mother and I built a little greenhouse on the side of the garage.
I loved that greenhouse. It was so much …
The Christmas I Was Not There
I think my favorite Christmas memory was the year I realized how much I mean to the people in my life and how my life has intrinsic value.
It had been a rough year in college for me. I was piling responsibility after responsibility on my shoulders. Extra projects for school, signing on to sit on more and more executive boards of more and more organizations. I was overextending myself, and I was burning out quickly.
One day after a big fundraising event, one of my underlings had to bring the cash box to the bank. It was piled full of cash …
Get Well Shawn Sullivan!!!
Our administrative manager here at Citizen Wausau is ailing with complications from surgery last week. Everyone at CW is hoping and praying for a speedy recovery for the guy who does nothing but who we cannot live without.
Get well soon, Shawn Sullivan!
Five Questions In The Midst My Christmas Breakdown
This happens to me every year during the week before Christmas. Most of the other 51 weeks of the year, I’m a model of efficiency and organization. I know exactly where each member of our family needs to be and when. I know which items are the most important on my to-do list, and how I will get them done. I can quickly determine the whereabouts of my son’s missing Lightning McQueen, or pinpoint the exact location of my daughter’s other dance shoe.
But during this week each year, I turn into a crazy freak. I am overwhelmed by the constant …
Against the NIMBY Phenomenon
I was so pleased to read that Aspirus had donated land to the Women’s Community for their new shelter. Good job, Aspirus!
I live about a mile or two from the first proposed site on Campus Drive. My neighbors freaked out and insisted that the domestic abuse shelter look elsewhere for a location. I was horrified. My first irrational instinct was to offer my backyard. It’s crazy and impractical, but I think it’s a decent impulse.
“Not in my backyard” is a complicated issue. I wouldn’t mind a women’s shelter, but I would probably get a little upset about a power station …
Friday Questions from oldwoodchair
Today’s questions come to us from oldwoodchair. Thanks Terry!
1. Do you ever have repeated dreams?…you know, the same dream periodically throughout your life? I never do, but I hear some people experience that. But I do have dreams that I am dreaming.
2. I have a phobia about snakes….it is unreasonable and totally powerful. I have no idea why I have it. Do you have any phobias or fears that go beyond just a regular, understandable fear (like war, violence, loss, etc.)?
3. Speaking of weird psychological behavior, will you admit to any obsessive compulsive issues? Like, I always place my paper …
A Holiday Hypothetical
Let’s play a game. It’s a game about greed, so let me just get that out of the way now. You are making a Christmas/holiday/etc wishlist. On it are six items:
- An item $100,000 or less
- An item $10,000 or less
- An item $1,000 or less
- An item $100 or less
- An item $10 or less
- And finally, an item $1 or less
What’s on your list? Keep in mind it needs to be an actual item you can buy (eBay, Amazon, whatever). And no gift cards. Mine would look something like this: